[111] Interea cum jam polivissem atque emendassem vitas meas Plutarchi, ostendit mihi Bruxellae, ubi agebam illustrissimi principis mei legatus, secretarius regius editas elegantissime ab Amioto linguâ gallicâ vitas Plutarchi, quae exierant tamen in publicum sex menses antequam eas viderem. Hujus viri mihi eruditio et diligentia aliquid lucis nonnullis in locis attulit. Cui ego hoc testimonium dabo: non posse fieri, ut quisquam hoc tempore Plutarchum tam vertat ornate linguâ Latina quam vertit ille suâ (Ib.).
[112] Amyot’s own attitude is very similar. He cites the Latin versions in proof of the hardness of the original, and challenges a comparison of them with his own.
[113] Interea cum jam polivissem atque emendassem vitas meas Plutarchi, ostendit mihi Bruxellae, ubi agebam illustrissimi principis mei legatus, secretarius regius editas elegantissime ab Amioto linguâ gallicâ vitas Plutarchi, quae exierant tamen in publicum sex menses antequam eas viderem. Hujus viri mihi eruditio et diligentia aliquid lucis nonnullis in locis attulit. Cui ego hoc testimonium dabo: non posse fieri, ut quisquam hoc tempore Plutarchum tam vertat ornate linguâ Latina quam vertit ille suâ (Ib.).
[114] ii. 4.
[115] Mr. Holden.
[116] Espineux et ferré (ii. iv.). Perhaps ferré should be rendered difficult rather than crabbed. But even thorny and difficult are hardly words that one would apply to Plutarch. Montaigne’s meaning may perhaps be illustrated by the criticism of Paley: “Plutarch’s Greek is not like Lucian’s, fluent and easy, nor even clear.” He uses many words not in the ordinary Greek vocabulary; and he too often constructs long sentences, the thread of which separately as well as the connection cannot be traced without close attention. Hence he is unattractive as a writer.
[117] I do not know what authority Mr. Wyndham has for his statement that Amyot’s version of the Morals “fell comparatively dead.” It is, of course, much less read nowadays, but at the time it ran through three editions in less than four years (1572, 1574, 1575), and for the next half century there are frequent reprints.
[118] These, translated from the Latin collection of 1470, to which they had been contributed by Acciaiuoli, were included in Amyot’s third edition.
[119] That is, if we multiply them by eight.
[120] Most of the facts of the foregoing sketch are taken from the articles on the Norths in the Dictionary of National Biography, which, however, must not be considered responsible for the inferences.